A strategic analysis of the war against transnational terrorism

We study a two stage game in which a transnational terrorist organization interacts with an arbitrary number of countries that may differ in their political or economic power, their military effectiveness, the benefit from cooperating against terrorism and the value they assign to damage. Only a subset of countries that emerges endogenously takes proactive measures to fight the terrorist, while all countries incur defensive expenditures to protect their soil. We characterize analytically the pure strategy subgame perfect equilibrium of the game and show how the equilibrium strategies depend on the key model parameters. We provide an algorithm to find the endogenous set of cooperating countries based on their benefit from cooperation and their political/economic power.     

战争与生态经济建设

本文从战争与生态经济相互关系的角度,论述了三个问题:21世纪是生态经济建设时代,战争是生态经济建设的致命问题,9·11恐怖战争、反恐怖战争是对生态经济建设的严重破坏。     

Pluralism and heterodoxy in economic methodology

Economists work within models that are simplified depictions of reality. An argument for a pluralistic understanding of economics is that different approaches lend insight by looking at different phenomena from different viewpoints. While all economists can benefit from taking a pluralistic approach to understanding economics, Austrian school economists must be more pluralistic in their understanding and presentation of ideas than mainstream economists if they want their ideas to have an impact on mainstream economics. Despite the argument for a pluralistic understanding of economics, in research, as in other activities, specialization increases productivity. While Austrian school economists can benefit from taking a pluralistic approach to understanding economics, they are likely to be most productive in their research by specializing in the development of Austrian school methods and ideas.     

'Let your science be human': Hume's economic methodology

This essay examines David Hume's economic methodology. The authorcharacterises Hume's understanding of human actions as interactionism.Its key point is that interactions generate the disinterestedview of ‘the spectator’ in the human mind. Humeapplies this idea of the disinterested spectator to the positionof social scientists in understanding social phenomena. ThusHume's approach to social science can be regarded as interpretive.The author also points out the difference between Hume's methodin social science and historical study. Considering this difference,the author argues that we should refer to Hume's social theoryrather than historical works in order to understand his economicmethodology.     

Kriging methodology for regional economic analysis: Estimating the housing price in Albacete

Because of the socioeconomic importance of the housing subsector in the local, regional, and national economy and its implications for housing policy, this paper attempts to analyze the spatial behavior of the free housing price in the city of Albacete. To achieve this aim, the authors have used the models and estimators imported from geology called kriging. To do this, it is necessary to know the spatial dependence structure of the process, which is shown in the variogram.     

从“倒萨”战及其影响看中国经贸的安全与发展

自去年2月，美国总统布什在其国情咨文中提出了所谓的“邪恶轴心”国家以来，美国和世界民众的目光就从阿富汗被引到对伊拉克战争的关注中来了。经过十个月来的理论修补和备战运作，以美国为首的个别国家已经基本上完成了对伊战争的战略和战术的部署。去年11月8日，联合国安理会一致通过了有关伊拉克问题的1441号新决议，表明美国已基本上达到了建立“倒萨”国际联盟避免采取单边行动武力打击伊拉克的目的；11月在布拉格召开的北约高峰会中，美国进一步抹平了盟国之间的分歧和不同意见，落实了各项分工和任务，包括建立一支2.1万人的快速反…     

Rhetoric vs realism in economic methodology: a critical assessment of recent contributions

This paper reviews the relatively new debate on rhetoric andrealism in economic methodology, concentrating on its main exponents:Deirdre McCloskey on the side of rhetoric, Tony Lawson as theadvocate of critical realism, and Uskali Mäki, arguingfor a combination of rhetoric and realism. The review highlightsa blind spot in the debate, namely the opportunity to rethinkcritically the project of epistemology.     

From Malthusian war to Solovian peace

We present a two-country version of Hansen and Prescott's two-sector long-run growth model, introducing war by letting the countries take land from each other, at the cost of destroying capital and killing people. Because land is an input only in the Malthus sector the transition to a Solow economy brings a decline in warfare, broadly consistent with an observed 19th-century decrease in Great Power wars. We also find, inter alia, that if governments are Malthus-biased (care less about Solow output), the transition can lead temporarily to more war.     

Technology and the Hydra of terrorism?

In the application of new technologies that address the terrorism problem, an objective is to ensure that the technology does not cause more problems than it solves. Potential new technologies, including convergences of genomics, robotics, information technology, and nanotechnology, might rapidly develop. As with any technological advance, each of these offers a mixture of benefits and risks. At first, a direct approach is reviewed by looking at how these technologies might deter the motive, means, and opportunity for terrorist activities. While there are many potential deterrence applications, other issues are identified that might cause unintended problems in the system. Some of these problems include the possible contribution to terrorist motives by increasing stresses toward divisiveness in society, terrorist means through the development of dual-use technologies, or terrorist opportunities by further developing technological vulnerabilities.Next, a more systemic approach is taken by reviewing a wider range of issues, such as resource availability, management of science and technology, and general societal trends. The balance between technological change and social response is important in realizing benefits while mitigating unintended consequences such as harmful uses through terrorist actions. To explore issues concerning this balance, possible technological development scenarios are reviewed, including the possibility of accelerating or slowing technological development. Some recent recommendations are considered within this context. The need for a balance between technological and social response in this asymmetric situation suggests that the benefits of a rapid technological response against terrorism might not be as large as those observed during World War II.     

On the origin of domestic and international terrorism

We analyze the determinants of the origin of domestic and international terrorism in a large panel data set of 159 countries spanning from 1970 to 2007. We show that terror increases with GDP per capita, a higher polity score measuring a more open and competitive political system and experiences of domestic conflict, anarchy and regime transitions. Our evidence thus contradicts the notion that terrorism is rooted in economic deprivation or that strongly autocratic regimes breed more terrorists. Rather we show that weak or failing states are an incubator for terrorism. We also show that the causes of domestic terror and international terror are similar.     

运用国债抑制流动性过剩的可行性分析

近几年,随着我国对美国、香港、欧盟三大主要贸易伙伴贸易顺差的不断扩大,外汇储备增长迅速,已经达到1.8万多亿美元。贸易顺差短期迅速扩张是一把双刃剑:一方面使外汇储备大幅攀升,另一方面造成流动性过剩。抑制流动性过剩是宏观经济运行中存在的主要问题。中央银行频频出击,不断加息,并多次提高存款准备金率,但流动性过剩问题仍没有得到解决。文章对在运用货币政策拟制流动性过剩几乎无效的情况下,对运用国债拟制流动性过剩的可行性进行了分析。     

Why the FTC has declared war on doctors

In this article, the Washington editor of MEDICAL ECONOMICS reviews the salient actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against medical societies, physician directors of Blue Shield organizations, Health Systems Agencies, and Professional Services Review Organizations. When interviewed, top-ranking FTC staff officers responded to specific questions regarding the concerns of the agency. The FTC regards the practice of medicine as an activity in which competition must be protected. Thus, the restriction of advertising, setting of free schedules, limitation on the number of physicians, and exclusion of other health-care providers or organizations is regarded as anti-competitive and merits intervention by the FTC. The staff members acknowledge that the Congress may enact laws to control health care costs which would permit practices that the FTC would oppose in the absence of such legislation.     

Ludwig von Mises on war and the economy

The Review of Austrian Economics - In 1919, in the wake of the Central Power’s defeat in World War I, Ludwig von Mises published his second book, Nation, State, and Economy. The book explores...     

Effects of economic variables on NPLs depending on the economic cycle

Late payments are a major problem for Spanish banks. This paper studies as determinants of loan delinquency: unemployment, interest rates, inflation, housi